04.26.23

Hoeven Votes to Overturn EPA's Costly Regulation on Heavy-Duty Vehicles

Senator Helped Introduce CRA to Support Truckers, Stop Costly Biden Administration Rule

WASHINGTON – Senator John Hoeven today voted for legislation to overturn a Biden administration regulation on heavy-duty vehicle emissions that would place costly new requirements on the trucking industry. Hoeven helped introduce the legislation, a Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution, with Senator Deb Fischer (R-Neb.) to stop the costly rule from going into effect. The CRA was approved by the Senate by a vote of 50-49.

The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) new emission standards for heavy duty vehicles cover nitrogen oxides (NOx), as well as hydrocarbons and carbon monoxide (CO). The rule would also change requirements regarding emission control systems and emission-related warranties. The EPA estimates that the technology required to meet the new rule’s standards will cost between $2,568 and $8,304 per vehicle. Existing regulations on trucks have already resulted in a decrease in NOx emissions between 98 percent and 99 percent compared to models from the late 1990s.

“We introduced and voted for this CRA to stop the Biden administration from once again imposing costly and burdensome regulations on American job creators. The EPA’s rule, which targets our trucking industry, will hinder our already constrained supply chain and lead to higher costs for U.S. consumers. By increasing costs on the trucking industry, this EPA rule would actually make it harder to replace older trucks with newer models that have reduced emissions. We voted to repeal this misguided regulation and support our truckers,” said Senator Hoeven.

The EPA finalized its rule on new emissions standards for heavy duty vehicles on December 20, 2022, with the rule going into effect on March 27. In addition to helping introduce the CRA, Hoeven also pressed the EPA to abandon the proposal, which would make new compliant trucks cost-prohibitive for small business owners.

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